Louisville Sluggers: Bob May, Tiger Woods traded blows in epic PGA Championship at Valhalla in 2000

For that one week in 2000, they put on one of the greatest shows the game has ever seen.

It’s so easy now, with more than two decades of hindsight, for all the victories to converge into one uninterrupted stretch of dominance. The Tiger Woods of 1999 and 2000 won 17 PGA Tour events in his early 20s and suddenly, explosively, was the dominant force in golf.

He had fully burst into the spotlight with his eye-popping performance at the 1997 Masters, shattering the scoring record with the most dominant display in major championship history. After a relatively quiet year in 1998 in which he reworked his swing, he stared down a young Sergio Garcia to win his second major title at the 1999 PGA Championship at Medinah Country Club in Illinois.

Entering the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, Woods was without doubt the star, capable of shotmaking and power and putting prowess unmatched by his older peers.

Spoiler alert: Woods won that PGA Championship, part of the greatest streak in golf history. But that 2000 PGA Championship was special, because Woods was pushed to an extent he rarely experienced during the peak of his powers. Almost every great shot he hit was matched in the final round, and for once, the ultimate frontrunner had a running mate down the line at Valhalla.

Woods had started the year on a heater, winning early-season Tour events in Hawaii, California, Florida and Ohio. And he was just getting warmed up.

Woods blew away the field at the 2000 U.S. Open in June at Pebble Beach, notching a 15-shot win for the largest victory margin ever in a major. He then claimed his fourth major title and second in a row at the Open Championship in July at the Old Course at St. Andrews, this one by a mere eight shots. He had claimed three titles in a stretch of four major championships, and he had locked up the career Grand Slam before his 24th birthday.

If it seemed as if Woods couldn’t lose, it was because he wasn’t doing much losing. He headed into the PGA Championship as the strong favorite at Valhalla Golf Club, and he had exposed this fact to all who dared challenge him. Tiger was the man to beat, and nobody seemed able to do it.

Enter Bob May

Nobody wants to be called a journeyman, but that description perfectly fit May, then a 31-year-old who had split time between the PGA Tour and the European Tour. He had never won on the PGA Tour, but his impressive junior-golf record in California had once been a target for a younger Woods. At the start of the PGA Championship at Valhalla, May had climbed to No. 48 in the world.

As the Championship progressed into Sunday’s final round, May vs. Woods had all the makings of a classic David-vs.-Goliath matchup that nobody saw coming. It’s easy to look back now and say the outcome seemed predetermined based on Woods’ sterling record as a closer, but that would be a case of hindsight being 20/20 because May was determined to take it to Woods.

And Woods, coming into Valhalla on an 18-month hot streak, looked entirely human for a spell in the third round and again early in the fourth.

Valhalla’s course was designed by Jack Nicklaus with major aspirations, having first hosted the 1996 PGA Championship won by Mark Brooks in a playoff over Kentucky native Kenny Perry. The layout featured thick bluegrass rough and tricky Nicklaus greens, many of which included several tiers.

Jack’s swan song

By the 2000 PGA Championship, the 60-year-old Nicklaus was nearing the end of his major championship career. The course he built in Kentucky would be the last he would play in the PGA Championship. But there was one more reason to watch the Golden Bear. He was paired with Woods in the first two rounds, Vijay Singh occupying the third spot in their group.

2000 PGA Championship
Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus walk from the first tee during the first round of the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Cub in Louisville.

It was the first time Nicklaus and Woods played competitive rounds together.
Woods wasted no time showing off in front of the man whose records he was chasing, shooting 6-under-par 66 to share the first-round lead with Scott Dunlap. A second-round 67 gave Woods the outright lead by one over Dunlap, who was playing some of the best golf of his life.

By and large, Woods did it by manhandling Valhalla’s four par 5s. With length to spare, Woods was 7 under par on those holes after playing each of them twice, seven birdies in eight attempts.

“I knew that he was good, but I had never played with him in a tournament before,” Nicklaus, who missed the cut by a shot, said during a televised interview after the first two rounds. “And he is so much better than I thought he was. It just absolutely amazed me. It was a unique experience for me to play with him the last two days.”

May, meanwhile, didn’t get off to the greatest start. By then a Las Vegas resident, May was an incredible longshot after opening with an even-par 72. A talented iron player, he climbed into the fringes of contention with a bogey-free 66 in the second round, but he was five shots behind Woods on a packed leaderboard.

Nobody could have predicted what would come

In Saturday’s third round, May racked up seven birdies in a 10-hole stretch and hung a second consecutive 66 on the board. Woods, meanwhile, started struggling a touch with his putter — nothing too alarming, but not every putt was dropping as some fans had come to expect. He was still dominating the par 5s in general, but a double bogey on the par-4 12th included a missed 3 footer.

Woods hung tough for a 2-under 70 and a one-shot lead over May, who was one shot clear of Dunlap and JP Hayes. But, unexpectedly, there appeared to be gaps in Woods’ armor.

Sunday turned into one of the greatest two-man duels in major championship history. Woods and May, paired together in the final group, distanced themselves from the field. And despite many expectations, it was May who started hot.

Woods struggled early with two bogeys in the first six holes, including a three-putt on a par 5. Meanwhile, May flipped the script with birdies on two of the first four holes. He bogeyed the sixth, but as the pairing walked to No. 7 tee, the journeyman had a two-shot lead and appeared fearless, throwing great iron shot after great iron shot at a Woods who couldn’t seem to dodge the blows. David had Goliath on the ropes.

2000 PGA Championship
Bob May at the 2000 PGA Championship.

But No. 7 is a par 5, and Woods did what he does on such holes, making birdie to cut May’s lead to one. Woods then reheated his putter with a 12-footer that found the cup on No. 8 to reach 13 under par and square what soon would become a two-man match. The contestants took a breather with pars on No. 9 before heading to the back nine.

After the turn, they threw birdies at each other hole after hole. May had three birdies in a row on Nos. 10-12 to take a 1-up lead despite Woods birdieing Nos. 10 and 12. They both birdied the long par-3 14th, May again knocking his approach inside Woods’ before each rolled in a putt. May again struck a beautiful approach on 15, but this time he misread his birdie putt and settled for par after Woods had made a 15-footer for his par, later calling that save a deciding point of the tournament.

Woods stuck a wedge approach tight on 17 to pull even with May as they lapped the rest of the field, and with the title on the line each man reached the par-5 18th green in two shots. Neither eagle putt came close, with May actually running his off the green and onto the fringe before Woods missed by 5 feet.

By this point, each player had four birdies on that back nine, and with everything on the line in regulation, neither backed down on 18. May knocked in his long birdie putt from the fringe, fist-pumping on his way to retrieve the ball from the hole. Woods then rolled his shorter putt home to tie May at 18 under par at the end of regulation, generating a Woods fist-pump of his own.

Each man shot 5-under 31 on that back nine, no bogeys between them. Woods had to birdie seven of the final 12 holes to catch the underdog May: No player had pushed Woods to those extremes in any of his previous major victories.

A playoff first at the PGA

They set off for a three-hole aggregate playoff, the first time that format was employed in the PGA Championship, replacing the previous sudden-death method. And Woods struck early.

May drove left into tall rough on Valhalla’s 16th, and his second shot found more rough short and right of the green. From there, an exceptional pitch-and-run trundled across the green, up to the back tier and to within a few inches to secure a par.

But Woods, having found the fairway with a 2-iron tee shot and having hit the green with his approach, rolled in a 25-footer for birdie. And it wasn’t just that Woods made the putt. He followed the ball toward the hole, quick-stepping as it approached the cup and pointing as it tumbled in, giving the cameras one of his most iconic reactions. His birdie drew the first and only blood of the playoff.

Both men struggled on No. 17, May getting up and down from a greenside bunker while Woods was forced to pitch out of the trees with his second, bouncing his ball off a cart path and over the green before scrambling for a par to maintain his one-shot playoff lead.

Then came one of the luckiest breaks of Woods’ career. On the third and final hole of the playoff, he badly tugged his drive toward trees and bushes. After a few tense seconds in which nobody seemed to know where the ball was, it could be seen on the television coverage rebounding down a cart path to a much better location, albeit still in light rough.

Tiger Woods 2000 PGA
Tiger Woods celebrates making a birdie putt on the 18th hole to force a playoff at the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo: Donald Miralle/Allsport)

There has been speculation that Woods’ ball was either kicked or thrown by a fan, but there’s no solid evidence to promote such a claim. If his ball had remained in the thickest trouble, his one-shot lead would have been in peril.
May also pulled his drive into the rough, and both men missed the fairway with their ensuing layups on the par 5. Woods then found the front bunker with his third shot, while May blasted his approach from deep grass onto the green within 25 feet of the hole. This thing wasn’t over yet, as a make by May or a bad bunker shot by Woods could yet square the playoff.

Woods then did what he does, blasting from the sand to within 18 inches to guarantee his par. May needed to sink that 25-footer for birdie, and for most of its length it appeared as if he might have done it. But the putt broke hard near the end and missed by inches, and Woods had his third major victory in a row.

“Anytime you get to play against the best, and be able to come out on top against the best, it’s always going to be more satisfying,” Woods said after the round. “The last two years the PGA Championship has drawn the best field, and I’ve been very fortunate to be able to win. But to be able to tee it up and go toe-to-toe against the best players in the world, that’s what you dream about.”

May had come within a whisker of knocking the wind out of Woods, ultimately falling one shot shy of victory in regulation and then losing by just one shot in the playoff.

“I wanted to concentrate real hard out there today and, you know, prove to people I can play out here,” May said in a post-round television interview. “It’s not a question anymore. I went out and played a good solid round of golf, and was just one shot too short.”

The two players’ careers diverged greatly after that PGA Championship before suffering similar infirmities.

Woods kept winning, racking up a total nine PGA Tour victories in 2000. He added the Masters title in 2001, giving him all four major trophies in a row. Call it a non-calendar- year Grand Slam if you like or not, but there’s no denying it was the greatest professional major streak in the history of the game.

May kept swinging well in the weeks after the PGA Championship, finishing third at the Reno-Tahoe Open the next week and adding three more top-20 finishes on Tour that year. Over the next several seasons, he continued on Tour before hurting his back in 2003, the spinal injury eventually leading to surgery. After more than a year away from golf, he returned to play a handful of more seasons before more pain led to a second surgery. After turning 50 in 2018, he tried to qualify for the PGA Tour Champions but has played only a handful of events. Much of his focus has shifted to the eponymous golf academy he operates in Las Vegas.

Woods, meanwhile, went on to arguably the best career in professional golf history with 15 major titles and 82 PGA Tour victories before suffering a series of injuries himself, including his own back problems that led to multiple surgeries.

All these years after his stunning showdown with May in Louisville, Woods is also trying to prepare his body for PGA Tour starts.

The two players were on divergent paths that eventually led to similar pain and limited play. But for that week at Valhalla, each was in his prime, and they put on one of the greatest shows the game has ever seen.

Scottie Scheffler lurking after first round of 2024 PGA Championship

“I felt like there was a couple things I can clean up going into tomorrow.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Scottie Scheffler started with a bang and showed little rust in his first competitive round since taking three weeks off for the birth of his son.

Scheffler’s approach from 167 yards at the first hole bounced a few feet in front of the hole and hopped into the cup for an eagle. Welcome back!

“It was a stock 9-iron. I was trying to hit it right at the pin because I felt like if I hit it the right way, the shortest it was going to go was on the pin,” he explained. “I felt like it was going to go a little past the pin if anything, and it was nice to see that one go in, obviously.”

Scheffler fired a 4-under 67 at Valhalla Golf Club on Thursday in the opening round of the 106th PGA Championship, extending his streak to 41 consecutive rounds at par-or-better dating to an even-par final-round 70 at the 2023 Tour Championship. He sits T-12 and trails leader Xander Schauffele by five strokes.

“I mean, there’s nothing I can do. Xander went out and played a great round this morning and I’m not really going to worry about trying to shoot 9 under. I’m just going to go out and try to hit good shots and play my own game,” said Scheffler.

The world No. 1 has been a force to be reckoned with, winning in four of his last five starts, including the Masters and RBC Heritage back-to-back before heading home to Dallas to await the birth of son Bennett.

“I’m in amazement,” Keegan Bradley told CBS. “There are certain guys that can excel extremely at one aspect of the game but it seems like Scottie is excelling at almost everything.”

PGA: Tournament hub | Friday tee times | Photos

The last two No. 1s who teed it up in a PGA Championship at Valhalla – Tiger Woods (2000) and McIlroy (2014) – won the tournament. That’s a good omen for Scheffler. Just how good has his recent run been? Scheffler has four wins in 10 starts this season. That is a higher winning percentage than the current records of Major League Baseball’s Rockies, White Sox, Marlins, Astros, and Angels. He’s bidding to become the first player since Jordan Spieth in 2015 – and only the fifth player since 1960 – to win the first two majors of the year.

2024 Masters
Scottie Scheffler holds up his trophy at the green jacket ceremony after winning the 2024 Masters Tournament. (Photo: Adam Cairns-USA TODAY Network)

But Golf Channel’s Paul McGinley pointed out that if Scheffler has five gears, he only used three on Thursday. He still made an eagle and four birdies against two bogeys, one of which was a three-putt at No. 14 in which he seethed afterward lipping out from 4 feet, but bounced back with his final birdie of the day at 15. Scheffler’s tee-to-green was on point as usual: according to stats maven Justin Ray, Scheffler gained 5+ shots on the field in a major championship round for the sixth time since the beginning of 2022. No other player in that span has more than three such rounds. Nevertheless, after a long round and with an 8:48 am. ET tee time on Friday, Scheffler still rushed to the range to iron out a few wrinkles, working with swing coach Randy Smith and putting coach Phil Kenyon.

“I felt like there was a couple things I can clean up going into tomorrow, but overall today was a solid round,” Scheffler said.

Viktor Hovland confirms reuniting with swing coach Joe Mayo, opens with 68 at 2024 PGA Championship

Hovland and May had parted ways at the start of the year.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Viktor Hovland has changed coaches yet again. Only this time he’s returned to a familiar face in Joe Mayo.

“Just reached out and was wondering if he could take a look at my golf swing, and let’s get back to work,” Hovland said after posting 3-under 68 in the opening round of the 106th PGA Championship on Thursday at Valhalla Golf Club.

Hovland, the reigning FedEx Cup champion, parted ways with Mayo at the start of the year and worked with noted instructors Grant Waite and Dana Dahlquist this season. Hovland explained these moves in March as searching for that perfect flushed iron shot he cherishes.

“I’m a very curious guy. I like to ask questions,” Hovland said at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. “Sometimes when you ask a question and you get some answers, that leads you down a different path and opens up some new questions and you pursue a different path. I just want to kind of see where it goes. I always like to improve and expand my knowledge.”

PGA CHAMPIONSHIPHow to watch | Tournament hub | Friday tee times

But his play so far this season have been a huge step backwards. The stats don’t lie. In Strokes Gained: tee to green, he tumbled from fourth last season to 122nd and his short game, which had improved under Mayo, slipped from the positive side (+.060) and No. 86 to the negative and No. 186 (-.74) in SG: Around the Green. Hovland, who is No. 89 in the FedEx Cup this season, has just one top-20 finish – a T-19 at the Genesis Invitational – and missed the cut at the Masters after rounds of 71 and 81.

In a terrific story from Kevin Van Valkenberg of No Laying Up, Mayo reflected on his breakup with Hovland.

“I admit that I have a very strong personality,” Mayo said. “I am hard to take in large doses. That’s one of my many many flaws in life. I realize being around me (for) a year full time, like we were, is probably pretty tough. Without question, I know I am hard to handle for a long period of time. When he said he wanted to do it on his own, I was relieved.”

2024 PGA Championship
Viktor Hovland prepares to tee off on the 12th hole during the first round of the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. (Photo: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports)

In comparing himself to what it must be like to play for former Indiana men’s basketball coach Bobby Knight, Mayo said, “It’s something I’ve struggled with my entire life. I’ve been this way since I was a young man. We’ve all got flaws, nobody is perfect. People who know me will tell you ‘Joe is intense, Joe is tough, Joe is hard to handle.’ I guess what I’m trying to say is this: If I had to be honest, if you threatened me with going to prison if I wasn’t honest with you, then I’d say my personality was probably part of Viktor wanting to do it on his own. I admit that. I admit that my strong personality is a turnoff to some people at some point in time. I’m taking the blame, if you will. I’m man enough to admit that, man enough to sack up and say being around me for a year was probably a lot to handle.”

But Hovland confirmed after the first round of the PGA Championship that he phone Mayo last week and they resumed working together.

“He knows my swing really well. He’s really, really smart, and just has a way of looking at my swing and kind of knowing what it is right away,” Hovland said. “Felt like I got some really good answers, was able to apply some of the feels right away, and I saw improvement right away. Yeah, it’s easy to keep going then.”

PGA Championship 2024 Friday second round tee times and groups

PGA Championship tee times are here.

For the second time in less than 365 days, Xander Schauffele opened a major championship with a 62. Schauffele’s 9-under effort during the first round of the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, gives him a three-shot lead over Tony Finau, Sahith Theegala and Mark Hubbard after 18 holes. His previous 62 came at the U.S. Open last year (he’d go on to finish T-10).

Some other big names in the mix include Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa and Tom Kim at 5 under, Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler at 4 under and Cam Smith, Viktor Hovland, Max Homa and Bryson DeChambeau at 3 under.

The second round starting times were delayed 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Here are the updated tee times and groups for the second round of the 2024 PGA Championship. If you’re looking for how to watch information, you can find it here.

PGA: Tournament hub | Weather forecast

Friday tee times

1st tee

Tee time Players
8:35 a.m.
Rich Beem, Sebastian Soderberg, Kazuma Kobori
8:46 a.m.
Josh Bevell, Aaron Rai, Jordan Smith
8:57 a.m.
Andrew Putnam, Jesse Mueller, Charley Hoffman
9:08 a.m.
Si Woo Kim, Tom Hoge, Alex Noren
9:19 a.m.
Y.E. Yang, Matthieu Pavon, J.T. Poston
9:30 a.m.
Jake Knapp, Jason Dufner, Francesco Molinari
9:41 a.m.
Thomas Detry, Jimmy Walker, Rasmus Hojgaard
9:52 a.m.
Austin Eckroat, Luke List, Mackenzie Hughes
10:03 a.m.
Sungjae Im, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Beau Hossler
10:14 a.m.
Thorbjorn Olesen, Brendon Todd, Keith Mitchell
10:25 a.m.
John Somers, Brice Garnett, Jesper Svensson
10:36 a.m.
Emiliano Grillo, Evan Bowser, Alejandro Tosti
10:47 a.m.
Vincent Norrman, Wyatt Worthington II, Chris Gotterup
2:05 p.m.
Doug Ghim, Tyler Collet, Adrian Meronk
2:16 p.m.
Larkin Gross, Lucas Herbert, Grayson Murray
2:27 p.m.
Lucas Glover, Stephan Jaeger, Russell Henley
2:38 p.m.
Ludvig Aberg, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas
2:49 p.m.
Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Keegan Bradley
3 p.m.
Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose
3:11 p.m.
Cam Smith, Hideki Matsuyama, Viktor Hovland
3:22 p.m.
Brooks Koepka, Max Homa, Jordan Spieth
3:33 p.m.
Tony Finau, Tyrrell Hatton, Sahith Theegala
3:44 p.m.
Akshay Bhatia, Bryson DeChambeau, Tommy Fleetwood
3:55 p.m.
Sepp Straka, Takumi Kanaya, Nick Taylor
4:06 p.m.
Andy Svoboda, Ben Griffin, Dean Burmester
4:17 p.m.
Preston Cole, Tim Widing, Adrian Otaegui

10th tee

Tee time Players
8:35 a.m.
David Puig, Thriston Lawrence, Matt Dobyns
8:46 a.m.
Tracy Phillips, Denny McCarthy, Keita Makajima
8:57 a.m.
Talor Gooch, Cameron Davis, Harris English
9:08 a.m.
Jason Day, Shane Lowry, Nicolai Hojgaard
9:19 a.m.
Min Woo Lee, Chris Kirk, Billy Horschel
9:30 a.m.
Gary Woodland, Tom Kim, Joaquin Niemann
9:41 a.m.
Collin Morikawa, Phil Mickelson, Matt Fitzpatrick
9:52 a.m.
Rickie Fowler, Jon Rahm, Cam Young
10:03 a.m.
Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Scottie Scheffler
10:14 a.m.
Patrick Cantlay, Camilo Villegas, Will Zalatoris
10:25 a.m.
Patrick Reed, Sam Burns, Padraig Harrington
10:36 a.m.
Brad Marek, Mark Hubbard, Maverick McNealy
10:47 a.m.
Braden Shattuck, Taylor Montgomery, S.H. Kim
2:05 p.m.
Michael Block, Luke Donald, Shaun Micheel
2:16 p.m.
Jeff Kellen, Alex Smalley, Ben Kohles
2:27 p.m.
Ryan Fox, Josh Speight, Matt Wallace
2:38 p.m.
Zac Oakley, Adam Svensson, Ryo Hisatsune
2:49 p.m.
Adam Hadwin, Martin Kaymer, Taylor Pendrith
3 p.m.
Byeong Hun An, Alexander Bjork, Eric Cole
3:11 p.m.
Adam Schenk, Corey Conners, Nick Dunlap
3:22 p.m.
John Daly, Lee Hodges, Robert MacIntyre
3:33 p.m.
Peter Malnati, Kurt Kitayama, Victor Perez
3:44 p.m.
Ben Polland, Zac Blair, Ryan Van Velzen
3:55 p.m.
Jeremy Wells, Sami Valimaki, K.H. Lee
4:06 p.m.
Jared Jones, Taylor Moore, Patrick Rodgers
4:17 p.m.
Kyle Mendoza, Andy Ogletree, Erik van Rooyen

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Jordan Spieth can still win the career Grand Slam at Valhalla, but it won’t be easy

The closest he’s come to hoisting the Wanamaker trophy came back in his magical summer of 2015.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Before Jordan Spieth finished packing his bags for the 2024 PGA Championship and got on the plane bound for the Bluegrass State, he knew one of the questions that he would get asked in his pre-tournament press conference. In fact, the assembled media on Tuesday didn’t even have to ask because Speith addressed it in his opening remarks.

“It’s a major championship. It’s the one that’s eluded me so far, and it would be pretty incredible to work my way into contention and have a chance this week and see if I can try to make that history,” he said.

The history that Spieth, 30, was referring to is winning the career Grand Slam. A dozen golfers have won three legs of the “impenetrable quadrilateral” but only five golfers — Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen — have won the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship. Spieth won the 2015 Masters and U.S. Open, then raised the Claret Jug after winning the 2017 British Open at Royal Birkdale. The closest he’s come to hoisting the Wanamaker trophy came back in his magical summer of 2015 when he was the runner-up to Jason Day at Whistling Straits.

After storms on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday softened Valhalla Golf Club, Thursday morning dawned sunny and windless, making conditions ideal for scoring. Xander Schauffele posted a bogey-free 62. Tony Finau and Sahith Theegala carded 65s and Rory McIlroy shot 66, but bogeys on the sixth and ninth holes (Spieth’s 15th and 18th, respectively) left the Texan with a 2-under 69 and seven shots off the lead and tied for 16th as the afternoon wave played the course.

PGA CHAMPIONSHIPHow to watch | Tournament hub | Friday tee times

On his final hole of the day, Spieth hit a wedge from 124 away from the hole that landed in a greenside bunker on the right. His next shot barely escaped the bunker and forced him to balance carefully as he chipped to save par. his attempt finished 5 inches from the cup and had to sting because, with storms forecast for Friday and Saturday, Spieth had to know that today was the day to make birdies and go low. After signing his card, Spieth was not among the players who talked with the media.

Coming into the PGA Championship, Spieth has had a frustrating year. In 12 events on the PGA Tour this season, he has three top 10s (third at The Sentry, T-6 at the WM Phoenix Open and T-10 at the Valero Texas Open), but he missed the cut at the Players Championship and the Masters.

“I stand by what I’ve kind of said a little bit this year,” Spieth said on Tuesday. “I feel like my mechanics are more sound than they have been in a long time. I feel like I’m driving the ball better, maybe, than I’ve ever driven the golf ball. I feel like I’m playing better than my results, and that’s really frustrating. It’s a different kind of frustration. It’s not kind of the same as when you’re searching for stuff.”

The numbers back up Spieth’s statement, to a point. At the end of Spieth’s amazing 2015 season, when he won two majors and almost won two more, he ranked 15th on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and coming into this season’s PGA Championship, while his ranking is also 15th, his average of 0.504 is slightly higher than it was nine years ago and his average driving distance of 304.2 yards is more than 12 yards longer. Spieth is still an excellent putter too, but as the chart below reveals, his iron game, represented by Strokes Gained: Approach the Green has fallen dramatically.

Thursday at Valhalla Golf Club, it was more of the same. Spieth drove the ball well but hit only half the greens in regulation, and as Scottie Scheffler climbed the leaderboard early Thursday afternoon, Spieth ranked 107th in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green (-0.428).

Spieth has 54 more holes to play at the 106th PGA Championship, and he might stage a comeback and contend on the weekend. There were certainly flashes of solid iron play on Thursday, like the shot from 186 yards out to 10 feet to set up a birdie on 12 and the wedge from 102 yards to 2 feet on 13. A loose tee shot that Spieth liked coming off his driver’s face on the sixth hole led to a bogey, but starting Friday he can’t give away more shots and hope to win the one major that’s eluded him. He’s not chasing down Secretariat or American Pharoah at nearby Churchill Downs, but he’s already a few furlongs behind after the first turn.

The Butch Harmon effect: Rory McIlroy’s improved wedge game keys start at 2024 PGA Championship

It’s been a game-changer for the four-time major winner.

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In early April, Rory McIlroy flew to Las Vegas to see legendary golf instructor Butch Harmon for a second set of eyes.

“These are my Trackmans right here,” Harmon told his son Claude Harmon III on the “Son of a Butch” podcast, pointing to his nearly 81-year-old blue eyes. “These have worked pretty good for the last 40 years for these guys.”

Harmon had watched McIlroy make 26 birdies at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and finished T-21. One week later, McIlroy missed greens at TPC Sawgrass with his short irons.

“I explained to him you have a golf swing built to drive the ball. You’re the best driver of the ball in the game that I’ve seen since Greg Norman. The problem is you hit your wedge shots with your driver swing,” Harmon explained. “You have this big-old long swing and this big-old follow-thru and the balls to high in the air. I need to show you how to hit three-quarter shots, bring the ball flight down so one hop and stop. You’ll control the distance better. I said, ‘Look, you need to put your own take on how you do it’ and so far he’s done a nice job of it.”

PGA CHAMPIONSHIPHow to watch | Tournament hub | Friday tee times

McIlroy, who entered the 2024 PGA Championship having won in his previous two starts, had one of those wedge shots Harmon talked about on Thursday that kept his round from coming off the rails.

At the par-5 18th hole, the ninth hole of the day for McIlroy who started on the back, the Northern Irishman leaked his tee shot to the right and into the water. He took a penalty and a drop and layed up to 120 yards. He had made bogey on the previous hole to fall back to 1 under after a pair of early birdies at Nos. 10 and 13 and was in danger of dropping back to even on a day where balmy conditions and receptive greens were a recipe for low scoring.

But McIlroy hit a beautiful wedge shot that hopped and stopped about 5 feet from the hole. McIlroy drained the par saver, made birdie at No. 1 and strung together three birdies in a row starting at No. 5 and including a chip-in at the sixth en route to an opening-round 5-under 66. That matches his opening-round 66 in the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, which he went on to win.

Of the up-and-down at 18, which felt as good as any birdie, he said, “That kept any momentum that I had going into the next nine.”

That wasn’t his only good wedge shot. McIlroy had his own way of describing how he’s been dialed in so well of late with the short irons.

“I think just the same feelings I’ve been having with my golf swing, feeling strength in the club face on the way back, and then trying to keep that strength so that it forces me to really get out of the way on the down swing,” he said. “That’s the thought with the wedges and with the irons.”

It’s been a game-changer for the four-time major winner and could be the ticket to get him a third Wanamaker trophy. McIlroy, who is seeking his first major since winning the 2014 PGA Championship here nearly 10 years ago, sits four behind the pacesetter Xander Schauffele, who he chased down last week at the Wells Fargo Championship, and tied for fourth with Bob MacIntyre.

“I sort of felt like it was pretty scrappy for the most part,” said McIlroy, who didn’t drive it anywhere near as well as he did last week. “I don’t really feel like I left many out there. I thought I got a lot out of my game today… not really happy with how I played but at least happy with the score.”

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Rusty Tiger Woods saved by trusty putter in first round of 2024 PGA Championship

Woods shot a 1-over 72 in the first round at Valhalla on Thursday.

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Tiger Woods was back on the golf course Thursday morning at the 2024 PGA Championship for the first time in competition since his last-place finish at the 2024 Masters, and it showed early.

After an iffy start off the 10th tee on the back nine that featured numerous knee-knocking par saves, Woods found some form briefly on the front nine but leaked oil down the stretch en route to an opening-round 1-over 72 at Valhalla Golf Club. A four-time PGA Championship winner in 25 previous appearances, Woods won the 2000 PGA held here at the big ballpark in the Bluegrass State but missed the cut the last time the championship was at Valhalla in 2014.

“I am getting stronger for sure. It’s just that I just don’t play a whole lot of competitive rounds,” Woods said on Thursday. “I haven’t played since the Masters. So it’s a little bit different than being at home and playing a flat Florida course.”

Starting on the par-5 10th hole, Woods missed a great look at birdie that frankly didn’t come close to the hole. Missing greens and fairways can come with a real penalty at Valhalla, especially given the thick, juicy rough courtesy of three days of rain leading up to the first round, and Woods learned that lesson the hard way on the par-3 11th where he made bogey after airmailing the green.

TRACKER: Tiger’s 1-over 72 with shot-by-shot analysis

He got the shot back with his first birdie of the day two holes later on No. 13, but immediately gave it away after another poor tee shot on No. 15. Woods then fought off bogeys like Bruce Lee fending off attackers on Nos. 16-18 to make the turn at 1-over 37.

“It took me probably three holes to get back into competitive flow again and get a feel for hitting the ball out there in competition, adrenaline, temperatures, green speeds,” Woods explained. “These are all things that normally I adjust to very quickly, and it just took me a few holes to get into it.”

Woods rode the par train for two more holes around the turn before he made his second birdie of the day thanks to a dart to five feet on the par-3 3rd hole. His trusty putter then inexplicably cooled off on Nos. 4 and 5 as he missed a pair of birdies by mere inches. For a moment Woods got back in the red numbers after he walked in a birdie putt on the par-5 7th hole, but consecutive bogeys on Nos. 8 and 9 sealed the deal for his 1-over round.

PGALeaderboard | TV, streaming info | Photos

“I three-whipped the last two holes. Wasn’t very good,” Woods said of his closing stretch. “Bad speed on 8; whipped it past the hole. And 9, hit it short. Hit it off the heel of the putt and blocked the second one. So wasn’t very good on the last two holes.”

Once again in his pre-championship press conference, the 15-time major champion was adamant he can still hit whatever golf shot is required. It’s just a matter of walking and whether or not his surgically repaired leg that’s held together by pins and screws can hold up for 72 holes. Valhalla is far from an easy stroll, and at times Woods was carefully maneuvering his way up and down the hills on property. The walk will put some real pressure on his body, especially given Friday’s weather forecast of 71 degrees and a 77 percent chance of rain.

Thankfully for Woods he’ll have a 24-hour break from when he walked off the course to when he’ll tee off again Friday afternoon at 1:29 p.m. ET, once again alongside Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott.

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Photos: PGA Championship 2024 Thursday’s first round at Valhalla Golf Club

Valhalla is a “big boy golf course,” as defending champion Brooks Koepka called it.

And they’re off.

The 2024 PGA Championship is underway at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, the second men’s major of the season.

Scottie Scheffler, no surprise, came into the event as the betting favorite. He is also in the first week of being a dad, after he and his wife Meredith welcomed son Bennett into the world.

Valhalla Golf Club is a “big boy golf course,” as defending champion Brooks Koepka called it on Wednesday. Valhalla is a par 71 measuring 7,609 yards. The course has 62 sand bunkers and five water hazards, which come into play on seven holes. The course was designed by Jack Nicklaus and opened in 1986.

PGA: Leaderboard | TV, streaming info | Friday tee times

Check out the leaderboard here and some photos below from Thursday’s first round of the 2024 PGA Championship.

 

 

 

Xander Schauffele’s golf equipment at the 2024 PGA Championship

Here are the sticks in Schauffele’s bag.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A complete list of the golf equipment Xander Schauffele is using at the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club:

DRIVER: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana PD 70 TX shaft

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Xander Schauffele’s driver” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/9g7Am5″]

FAIRWAY WOOD: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (15 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana PD 80 TX shaft

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Xander Schauffele’s fairway wood” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/PyMKee”]

HYBRID: Callaway Apex UW ’21 (21 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX shaft

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Xander Schauffele’s hybrid” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/LXMnAa”]

IRONS: Callaway Apex TCB (4-PW), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts

WEDGES: Callaway JAWS Raw (52 degrees), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56, 60 degrees), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Xander Schauffele’s wedges” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/DKvQ9y”]

PUTTER: Odyssey Las Vegas prototype

BALL: Callaway Chrome Tour

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Xander Schauffele’s golf ball” link=”https://worldwidegolfshops.pxf.io/rQmGkG”]

GRIPS: Golf Pride MCC Align (full swing) / SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0 (putter)

PGA: Leaderboard | TV, streaming info | Photos

Closing time: Michael Block starts 2024 PGA Championship bogey-quad at Valhalla

The Block Party may finally be coming to an end.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — “Closing Time” by Semisonic was played on the speakers as the Block Party may finally be coming to an end.

PGA of America club professional Michael Block, who made a name for himself with an ace and T-15 finish at last year’s PGA Championship, has been enjoying 15 minutes of fame that have lasted a year now. In his return to the PGA Championship this week at Valhalla Golf Club, the 47-year-old got off to a shaky start (to say the least).

Block began the first round on Thursday with a bogey on the par-4 1st hole and then made an eight-course meal of the par-4 2nd hole. He just missed the fairway off the tee and then came up short and left of the green with his approach. His third shot went over the green.

PGA CHAMPIONSHIPHow to watch | Tournament hub | Friday tee times

His fourth shot went into a bunker. His fifth shot also went over the green. He was finally on the dance floor with his sixth shot, but missed the 11-footer for triple bogey. Block then tapped in to put the carrot on the snowman for a quadruple bogey eight.

The head pro at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club‎ in Mission Viejo, California, was in the first group off Thursday morning alongside Team Europe Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald and 2003 PGA champion Shaun Micheel.

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